


How to Handle the Twins

by isuilde



Category: Free!
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Haruka is the twins' other brother, M/M, siblings fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-07
Updated: 2014-03-07
Packaged: 2018-01-14 22:30:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1281136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isuilde/pseuds/isuilde
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"We’ve decided!” Ran says, looking very proud of herself. “That I’d marry Haru-chan!”</p><p>Makoto’s eye bulge.</p><p>“And I’d marry Rin-chan!” Ren pipes up.</p><p>(alternatively, Haruka is actually the only one who knows exactly how to deal with the twins.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	How to Handle the Twins

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write something about MakoRin and the twins, and Haruka and the twins, and Makoto and Gou, but it doesn’t come out well. I’m sorry, this writer’s block is persistent. I hopeyou enjoy this a little nonetheless. ;__;

Ran wants to marry a lot of people. Makoto is used to it. 

“I want to marry the Blue Ranger,” she once said after they’d finished watching a ranger park show. “He’s the biggest, I’m sure he gives great hugs just like Oniichan.” 

Ren said, “I want to marry Oniichan.” 

“I want to marry Hanyu Yuzuru!” she announced to the whole house when their Dad introduced them to the sport of figure skating. “He’s cute, he’s like a swan on ice, I’m sure he take me out to dance just like in the movies!” 

Ren said, “I want to marry Oniichan.” 

“I want to marry Chinen Yuuri,” she told the rest of her siblings when they watched Kouhaku Uta Gasssen together, her New Year soba forgotten on the kotatsu. “Then he can sing to me every night before we go to sleep.” 

Ren said, “I want to marry Oniichan.” 

Really, Makoto is used to is. Which is why the whole thing comes as a huge shock, that once his whole swim club (with Rin, whose reason for coming is to pick up Gou, but ends up arguing with Haruka while helping them design the club’s new training menu anyway) go home, his siblings creep on him and pounce him from behind, yelling into his ears: “Oniichan, we’ve decided!” 

Makoto blinks, and smiles, lets the two of them hang off his back because he doesn’t know yet. “Really? What have you decided?” 

“We’ve decided!” Ran says, looking very proud of herself. “That I’d marry Haru-chan!” 

Makoto’s eye bulge. 

“And I’d marry Rin-chan!” Ren pipes up. 

Makoto chokes. 

 **\-----o0o-----**  

Rin, predictably, nearly laughs his ass off. 

“Rin!” Makoto protests, completely miffed that his so-called boyfriend isn’t taking this problem seriously. “This is not a laughing matter! My siblings are crushing on the two of you, please stop laughing!” 

Rin snorts. Haruka puts down his drink, turns to Rin, and says seriously, “That’s right, Rin. We have to take this seriously. We need to decide how we’re going to court Ran and Ren properly.” 

Makoto splutters a “Haru!” to the sounds of Rin’s renewed bouts of cackle. 

**\------o0o-----**

“No, we’re not going to my house,” Makoto tells Rin, the corners of his lips curving downwards. “The faster Ren forgets about his crush on you, the better.” 

Rin looks at him funny. “You’re not serious.” 

“I don’t want to be that one guy who breaks his little brother’s heart, Rin!” 

“He’s like, what, eight?” Rin shrugs. “It’s child’s play, Makoto. Gou used to say she’d marry Sousuke, too, back when we’re little.” 

“Rin, you’re the one who keeps sabotaging your sister’s dates with Mikoshiba-san.” 

Rin scowls. “That’s a completely different matter.” He kicks a random rock off the path they’re walking on. “Besides, where are we going to go, if not your house? My dorm room doesn’t exactly have _privacy_.” 

It’s unfair, that the way Rin leers at him gets Makoto to agree so quickly. 

**\-----o0o-----**

In hindsight, it might have been a poor decision. 

“Hey,” Haruka greets them from his spot in the living room where Ran is sitting on his lap. Next to him, Ren jumps up to his feet and dashes inside, disappearing even before Makoto could say anything. 

“Um,” Makoto begins, but never finishes because Ran is already bouncing over to give him a hug with a cheerful, “Oniichan, welcome home!” 

“I’m home,” Makoto says, and feels disappointed when Ran lets him go to return to Haruka’s lap, clinging to his best friend like he’s her personal teddy bear. “Haru, you didn’t tell me you were going to drop by.” 

Haruka shrugs. “I met your mom on the way home. She had to go deliver something to your dad, so she asked me to come over and watch the twins.” He pokes Ran on her side, and she giggles cutely. “Ran just asked me out on a date.” 

“We’re going to the paaark~!” Ran singsongs, wriggling in Haruka’s arm. “Haru-chan promised to give me piggyback all the way there!” 

Makoto can hear Rin’s discreet snort, and fights the urge to introduce his head to the wall. “Ah, but you shouldn’t go out and play before you finished your homework, Ran.” 

“Haru-chan promised to help me with them! I’ll bring them along and we can do it in the park, ne, Haru-chan?” 

“That’s a good idea,” Haruka says. 

“It’s not!” Makoto protests, and turns to Rin when the redhead bursts out into laughter. “Rin, you too, say something!” 

“What? No, I’m not going to be that guy who breaks—oh,” Rin pauses at the tug on his shirt, turns and looks down to find Ren standing behind him, cheeks aflame as shy eyes find Rin’s own, one hand clutching a bunch of flowers. 

“Here,” he says, cheeks red, pushing the flowers against Rin’s hip. 

“Oh,” Rin says, lowers himself onto his knees, and takes the flowers. “That’s—uhh. Thanks, that’s really—sweet?” he glances back, finds Makoto’s bewildered gaze. “Where did you get these?” 

Ren looks embarrassed. “We plant them in class. Mine aren’t very good, but—“ his voice peters into nothing, fingers now worrying the edge of his shirt. “Um—well—I want—Rin-chan to have them—“ 

“No, no, they’re beautiful,” Rin quickly says. He places a hand on top of Ren’s head and ruffles his hair, grinning widely. “That’s very romantic, thank you, Ren.” 

Ren brightens, practically beams at Rin, and Makoto knows that smile—that’s a patented Tachibana smile, guaranteed to charm almost anything with feelings, and _since when did Ren learn that smile_? 

“Well, since you brought me flowers,” Rin’s face turns thoughtful. “I think I owe you a date. Do you want to  go on a date with me, Ren?” 

Ren’s smile turns into a hopeful look. “Can we?” 

That’s it. Makoto decides he needs to put on his feet and end the whole thing, right now. “No. No, you guys can’t go out on a date.” Ren looks up, about to protest, but Makoto gives him a stern look. “You have chores to do, don’t you Ren?” 

Ren’s lower lip quivers. “But Ran—“ 

“Ran can’t go either.” At the indignant sound his sister makes, Makoto turns and directs the same stern look at her. “No, you still have to finish that observation assignment. It’s due the day after tomorrow, isn’t it?” 

Ran’s face falls. “But I can do it after the date—“ 

“No. Haru, thanks for your help watching the house, but I think I can manage now. You should go home.” He pauses, takes a breath, and turns to Rin. “Rin, you too.” 

“What?” Rin blinks, but Makoto’s already pulling at his arm. “Oi, Makoto, what the hell—“ 

“Language,” Makoto warns, drags him along as he uses his other hand to pull Haruka off Ran and towards the door. “I have a mountain of homework, sorry we can’t hang out now, I’ll see you guys tomorrow okay, bye.” 

Rin and Haruka stumble out of the house, and Makoto gives them a sunny smile once before closing the door on their faces. 

 _I’ll apologize later_ , he thinks, stomping on the slight guilt already clawing at his heart. 

**\-----o0o-----**

“That was uncalled for,” Rin frowns at Makoto’s apology. Haruka doesn’t even deem him worthy to look at, merely keeping his gaze at the sparkling spring ocean behind them. The smell of spring is always unique in Iwatobi—a mix of the sceant of the ocean and the blooming cherry blossoms and other flowers. 

Makoto loves spring. Usually. He isn’t sure he likes it that much anymore, because spring brings romance, and he doesn’t want that for his siblings. Not yet. 

Maybe in a hundred years. 

“I’m really sorry,” he sighs. “I’ll make it up to you two? I know it’s not your fault, but the twins don’t keep their crushes long, usually—Ran changes her crush every two weeks and Ren usually just crushes on me—“ 

“How is that better,” Rin grumbles. 

“—so the faster they could forget about their crushes on you two, the better.” Makoto ignores him. He turns to Haruka, who hasn’t spoked to him the whole day, and softens his voice. “Haru, you know how the twins are. You shouldn’t encourage them.” 

The corners of Haruka’s lips tighten, but he doesn’t say anything. 

Makoto gives up. “I’ll treat you mackerel pizza as Sasabe-san’s place.” 

Haruka’s face smoothens. “Fine.” 

Rin directs a dirty look at him. “You’re so cheap, Haru. Makoto _kicked us out_ , you know.” 

“Rin,” Makoto reaches out, fingers tentatively taking hold of Rin’s own, relief spreading in his chest when Rin doesn’t snatch them away. “Hey. I’m really sorry.” 

Rin scowls at him. “You kicked me out. While we were on a date.” 

“You were trying to take my brother out on another date while we were on a date.” Makoto points out. 

“I was joking!” Rin throws his hands up. “Come on, Makoto, he’s _eight_. He’s going to forget crushing on me in, what, two weeks tops? There’s no harm in indulging him a little. You said it yourself, you don’t want to be the guy who breaks his little brother’s heart. What makes you think I want to be that guy?” 

“Well, you were taking it too far—“ 

“He gave me flowers.” Rin glares. “You never gave me flowers.” 

Makoto blinks. “You want flowers?” 

“Oh my god,” Haruka yawns. “Stop flirting and let’s get going. Mackerel pizza.” 

**\-----o0o-----**

Ran comes to his room with a stern frown he knows she’s copying from their mother, complete with her hands on her hips and her lips a thin line on her face. Ren is close behind, doing his best to imitate his sisters as they stand before Makoto, looking up defiantly. 

“I know what you’re doing, Oniichan,” she says angrily, and Makoto puts away his English homework in favor of facing his sister’s wrath. “You’re trying to keep Haru-chan and Rin-chan to yourself. That’s selfish!” 

“What?” Makoto’s brain short-circuits for a moment. 

“Mom says we have to share,” Ren tells him, sounding genuinely upset. “We want to have fun with Haru-chan and Rin-chan, too.” 

“Oniichan’s a cheater,” Ran huffs. “I want my old Oniichan back.” 

“I’m not trying to keep Haru-chan and Rin-chan to myself,” Makoto leans forward, patting his siblings on the head. “But you know, Haru-chan and Rin-chan are older. Like Oniichan. We’re all sometimes get very busy, and they can’t come over when they’re busy.” 

Ran and Ren exchange glances, this time looking sad. “But they haven’t come over for so long.” 

Makoto curses the part of him that is too weak to his siblings’ puppy eyes. 

“Tell you what,” he says, plastering a smile for the twins. “This weekend, should we ask Haru-chan and Rin-chan to go with us to the shopping district? We can have lunch together, and then you can ask them to help choose your new shoes.” 

The twins brighten. “Like a date?” 

“Well,” Makoto hesitates. “Not—a date.” The twins’ faces fall, and he quickly amends, “Not a romantic date—we’re kind of going on a friendly date? Of some sort? How’s that?” 

Two heads tilt sideways in an identical move. “There’s a friendly date?” 

“Everything starts with a friendly date,” Makoto tells them, and it’s a good thing that the twins have always trusted him completely, or the way he nervously scratches his cheek would have given him away in an instant. “Okay? I’ll ask them tomorrow, but you two have to be good for the rest of the week.” 

Ran beams. “We will! I’ll even help mom with the dishes!” 

“I’ll eat my vegetables!” Ren pipes up. 

“That’s the spirit,” Makoto chuckles, hands ruffling the twin’s hairs. He needs help, he thinks helplessly, and pushes the twins around. “Now go to bed, it’s late.” 

“Yeeees!” with the chorus, the two speed off his room. 

Makoto stares at the empty room for a moment, before reaching out for his phone and dials a number. 

“Yes, senpai?” Gou’s voice answers, and Makoto sighs in defeat. 

“Gou-chan,” he nearly whines. “Help me.” 

**\-----o0o-----**

Gou doesn’t laugh, which Makoto appreciates. But she keeps looking at him in pity, and Makoto isn’t sure if that’s a good sign. 

“You know, senpai,” she says, when Makoto finishes whining about the whole thing. “You’re a good older brother. Really. Probably even better than Oniichan.” She pauses, rethinks her statement, and shakes her head. “Nah, just joking, no one’s better than Oniichan.” 

Makoto considers asking if she’s ever had anyone pointing out the possibility of her having a brother complex. 

“But the thing is, even good older brothers wouldn’t completely understand us younger siblings,” Gou continues. Her feet are making small splashes on the pool. They’re the only ones left after practice is done—Makoto had stayed behind to lock up and he’d asked Gou to accompany him for a while. “Sometimes you focus too much on how to protect us, and didn’t even consider that maybe, just maybe, we can deal with it by ourselves.” 

“They’re eight, Gou-chan,” Makoto says. 

Gou laughs, light chuckles that reminds him a little of Rin’s laughter. “Senpai, kids grow up fast these days. You’d be surprised at how much they’re capable of, emotionally as well as physically.” She jumps up back to her feet, one hand extended at Makoto. “Let’s go.” 

Makoto stares at her. “Where?” 

Gou shrugs. “Back to your house, of course. I told Oniichan to come over and fix the mess. He’s bringing Haruka-senpai.” 

**\-----o0o-----**

Makoto opens the front door quietly, mostly because Gou tells him to, and the two step into his house. There’s no sound coming from inside, and Makoto begins to wonder if there’s no one home when Ran’s gleeful shriek drifts down the stairs. 

Upstairs in their room, it seems. 

Gou shuffles on her feet. “Should I wait here, or…?” 

“It’s okay, come up. You’re picking up Rin anyway, right?” he toes off his shoes, snatching an extra pair of slippers for guests his mom keeps close to the genkan. “Let’s go.” 

They trudge up the stairs, following the twins’ happy squeals towards the twins’ room. Now that he listens to it, Makoto could hear Haruka’s occasional grunts and Rin’s barks of laughter in between the twins’ shrieks. He glances at Gou in question, who shrugs with an expression of _why are you looking at me, I’m a girl, I don’t do stupid_. 

Which is, admittedly, a legit point. 

“Stop scooting backwards, Haru, you are such a coward!” 

“Haru-chan, left!” 

“It’s called strategy, Rin.” 

“Rin-chan, don’t let him get away!” 

Makoto opens the door to the sight of his two best friends wrestling the controllers in their hands and his siblings perched on their backs, shouting at the fighting game they’re playing on the TV screen. For a moment, Makoto stops and stares, and thinks, _huh, that doesn’t look so bad_. 

And then Ren and Ran turn and notice him standing, and barrel into him with a loud “Oniichan, welcome home!” 

“I’m home—ooff—“ Makoto catches his siblings, their weight pushing him a step backwards, but he scoops them into a bear hug anyway. The sounds of game pauses, and Makoto looks up. 

“Makoto,” Haruka states, and Rin just grins up and raises his hand. “Gou.” 

“I thought my instruction was to fix the mess up,” Gou complains. “Not to spend time playing games at Makoto-senpai’s house.” 

“We did talk,” Rin shrugs. “Right? Ren, Ran?” 

“A lot!” Ran throws her hands up, and then looks down at Makoto and gives him her best motherly look. “I’m sorry, Oniichan. I promise I won’t get married until I grow up! I don’t want Oniichan to be sad, okay?” 

Ren smushes his face on Makoto’s arm. “I won’t get married to anyone other than Oniichan!” 

Ran looks at Ren incredulously. “Ren, you can’t marry Oniichan. Rin-chan is going to.” 

Makoto chokes on nothing. “What?!” 

Ren stares at him in consideration. “Well, then I’ll marry someone who is like Oniichan,” then he beams, like he’s found the solution of all problems. “But not until I grow up. I don’t want Oniichan to be lonely.” 

“Yeah, we don’t want Oniichan to be lonely,” Ran repeats, nodding to herself. “Even if Rin-chan is here.” 

Makoto splutters. “What is going on?” 

“Haru kind of outed you to your siblings,” Rin answers, a soft shade of red across his face even as he  elbows Haru on the side. The older boy doesn’t look too concerned about being ratted out, though. “He also said he’s in a relationship with a waterfall goddess.” 

“What,” Gou says eloquently, and Makoto’s brain echoes the word. Ran, on the other hand, just sighs into Makoto’s ear and says, “It’s a very romantic story.” 

“I think Oniichan and Rin-chan makes a better couple,” Ren says. 

“Did you just break my siblings’ hearts,” Makoto sounds strangled, and really, it has nothing to do with the way Ran and Ren are still hanging off his neck. 

“It’s okay, Makoto,” Haruka tells him. “They’re more interested in watching me draw you in a wedding dress.” 

**\-----o0o-----**

(But really, this is how the talk went: 

“So,” Rin says, once the twins has settled down and Haruka’s started sketching absently. “Ran, Ren. Makoto said you guys love us.” 

“We love both Haru-chan and Rin-chan,” the twins chorus. “So we each get one.” 

“That’s logical,” Haruka comments, and Rin gives him a stink eye. 

“Does Rin-chan and Haru-chan like us, too?” Ren asks, tentative and shy and adorable, which is unfair because it makes everything ten times harder. 

“Of course we do,” Haruka cuts in before Rin could answer. “Like I said, I’d marry you, Ran.” 

Ran beams. 

“But not now. Makoto would be so lonely if you guys marry us.” 

The twins scrunch up their faces, movements so identical that it’s actually hilarious to watch. “Oniichan would?” 

“He would,” Rin agrees. “He’s the oldest, right? If you two get married at the same time now, he’d be the only kid left home, right? He’d be very lonely, that Makoto.” 

Ren looks upset. “I don’t want Oniichan to be lonely,” he says. “That’s sad.” 

“What do we do?” there’s a note of panic in Ran’s voice. “I don’t want Oniichan sad, I don’t want that.” 

“Well,” Haruka says. “You can always wait for this before getting married.” And he flips the sketch book over, showing a sketch of Makoto in a wedding dress. Rin chokes. 

The twins make amazed noises at the sketch for a moment, their fingers trailing on the lines, and Haruka adds, “I know someone who’s wants to get your brother in this dress.” 

Ran and Ren look up, curious. Haruka just glances at Rin. Rin thinks he ought to strangle Haruka for real one of these days. 

“Rin-chan,” Ren shuffles back towards him, eyes wide. “You want to marry Oniichan?” 

“I—“ Rin begins, mind whirling because this is not how he’s supposed to explain things to eight year-olds, but Ran is positively sparkling at the very idea of Makoto getting married, so he sighs. “Well. It’s not about the marriage—you see, you can’t just—you can’t just marry someone like Makoto. Makoto is important, right?” He waits for the nod, and then continues. “Makoto is important, so I gotta do things right. So I can’t marry him now, because I’m only a high school student—“ 

“High school students can’t get married?” 

“They can if they want. They shouldn’t, if they want to have a great family like yours.” Rin pokes Ren on the side, and the boy giggles. “But yeah, I’m. Kind of. Going out with your brother.” 

“What does that mean?” Ren’s face scrunches up as he turns to Ran for explanation. 

“It means holding hands and hugging and kissing.” Ran wrinkles her nose. “That’s gross.” 

“That’s gross,” Ren imitates her. 

“Rin likes it, though,” Haruka says amicably, and the twins answer with a chorus of “Eeeeewww!” 

Rin glares at Haruka. “At least I am not in an exclusive relationship with substances that could be broken down to an oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms.” 

Ran perks up. “Haru-chan is in a relationship?” 

Haruka raises an eyebrow at Rin in a manner of _you have no idea how to handle the twins_ , and tells Ran, “I’ll tell you the story of how I get in a relationship with a water goddess.”) 

**\-----o0o-----**


End file.
